Jim Parsons credits a Britney Spears video for inspiring his acting career

On Monday’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons went all the way back to the late ’90s to talk about how he drew inspiration while auditioning for grad schools. In what he calls “the oddest connection” to Britney Spears, Parsons admits that her song and video for 1999’s “…Baby One More Time” sparked something in him.

“I was getting ready and trying to get focused for these auditions for these schools and something about that song, and especially that video, really worked for me,”Parsons said. “Obviously not in a sexual way. It was just her in that Catholic schoolgirl uniform, marchin’ down that hallway with all the confidence. I was like, yeah, go out and kill it. Go get it!”

Parsons went on to say that he got into school and eventually got a career — if that’s what you want to call a hit TV show and four Emmys — and playfully gave Spears “a lot” of the credit. As for Spears, whether or not she had anything to do with his success is unclear, but we do know that song and video launched a successful career that is still going.